Thursday, 27 March 2014

A man was involved in an accident whiles
on his way to see her newly born child for the first time. He regained his consciousness
on a hospital bed, there he realised that he’d lost his sight. He screamed and
punched in agony for the fact that he would not see again, especially not being
able to see his newly born child again. He never slept for days. Thoughts of
living in darkness for the rest of his life got him scared and restless. He couldn’t
just imaging the worthiness of life without his sight.

One morning he called the doctor and had
a very passionate conversation with him. He promised heavens and earth if only
the doctor could help restore his sight. The answer was no as it has always
been. Then he whispered to the doctor; “Help me end it. I can’t stand the shame
of being held by the hand anytime I have to take a step. This life can’t work
anymore. Let’s end it and try again. I hope I get relief in the next life.” All
the doctor could do was to shake his head in disbelief and leave his bedside.

The next morning, as he sat crying, a
ward-mate, who had recently been crippled went to his bed side and handed him
an orange. “Do you know what this is?” the ward-mate asked. “I have no eyes,
how could I know?” he answered. “Smell it,” the ward-mate said. He did, realising
what it is, he turned to the ward-mate and said “it’s an orange.” “Of course it’s
an orange, but how did you know?” the ward-mate queried. “It SMELLS like one”
came the answer. The bed-mate then said “life is designed to still work even
when we’ve lost something within us. Eyes alone can’t make your whole life
better, therefore, losing it doesn’t make life worthless. There’s always a way
to live without eyes, let your heart illuminate your world and you can go wherever
your feet can carry you. Tears won’t solve it, young soul, they just will find
an escape through your eye, that’s all.” The story has it that, this man lived
another forty seven years, fulfilled and accomplished.

We are wonderfully crafted to live a
happy and fulfilled life however our circumstances. It is not given to a very
few but each and every one of us. We have a chance at life but we usually let
our chances slip. As humans, we turned to look too hard and too long at the
close doors whiles many open doors remain unattended to. If there’s a door that
is standing wide open for you and another that you’re trying to get through by
knocking it down, sometimes it’s best to take the door that’s already open for
you.

Buddha
once said: “It is your resistance to what
is that causes your suffering.” We
are not made for suffering but rather give way to suffering when we try to resist
how things are. However hard we try, there are some things we can’t change. It is
what it is. It is when we try to go against the current that we open ourselves
up for suffering. There are things we can change, yes! But there are quite a
lot of few that we cannot. Where we can, let’s put in our strength and make the
change we desire. If we can’t change it, we have to accept it as it is and let
go of the negativity. That is when we find true value in letting go.

“This too shall pass” has been my favourite
quote anytime I find myself in an uncomfortable situation. Nothing lasts forever;
our sorrows, our heartbreaks, our guilt and shame can’t hover over us forever. They
too shall pass. All, we need is a willing heart that can stand the test of
time, be strong and be ready to make a change.

Get out of your own way. Give yourself
the chance to be happy. If anyone deserves a better life and a happy ending, it
is you.